Time Share/Free Giveaways - are these a scam?

[Lanky Livingston]

Anyone have any experience with these? They suckered us in with a "spin the wheel" type thing, and I just got a call telling me I won one of four prizes, which is determined by a scratch off. To claim my prize, I have to go up and listen to a 90-minute time share spiel.

I know that some of these are legit, but how do you know? They have not asked for any money; I got scammed by one in college a long time ago, but they asked me for money up front (I was young and stupid then - now I'm just old and less stupid ).

Anyway, I was just curious if anyone went through with these and actually got the giveaway trips...are they worth it? Thanks in advance!

 

[Special K]

Personally, I stay away from those for multiple reasons but primarily because I hate being heavily pressured into to buying anything.

Maybe I'm a cynic, but in this case, I'd be very wary of anything that starts with a "game"... Even if you aren't screwed out of money, I think it would just be too much of a hassle to sit through all the sales speeches...

 

[Lanky Livingston]

Personally, I stay away from those for multiple reasons but primarily because I hate being heavily pressured into to buying anything.

Maybe I'm a cynic, but in this case, I'd be very wary of anything that starts with a "game"... Even if you aren't screwed out of money, I think it would just be too much of a hassle to sit through all the sales speeches...

Yeah, this is the direction I'm leaning in. I've found that the old axiom generally holds true in 95% of cases: if it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is.

 

[Elephant]

Yeah, my ex fiance and I went and listened to one. They do give prizes, but the **** they give away is just that...****! We won a computer, it was about as useful as the calculator I had in high school 25 years ago.

The funny part was, when they sat us down for a "consultation", I just kept saying, "I am not buying a time share, I am just here because you offered me free stuff." I would interrupt him every other sentence and repeat myself. After the 5th time I looked at him and simply asked, I have repeated that I do not want the time share, that I am only here for free stuff to you 5 times...do you really believe you are going to change my mind? He tried one more schpiel...it didn't work.

They mailed us the "computer" about a month later.

 

[Lanky Livingston]

I found a story on the interwebz that said people in London were told they all won a motorboat! They just had to pay 50 pounds for delivery. Well, they paid, and then a couple weeks later they all received a toy boat in the mail!

They made sure to emphasize that I was "guaranteed" one of four major prizes. The last one was $500 for something, which is what I'm sure everyone gets. But I'd bet the farm that its a "Spend $500, get $500 free" coupon. Bastards!

So if I do go, I'll know not to pay anything up front. I am likely not going to go, but you never know, maybe I'll get bored.

 

[Goaldeje]

I hate those guys. They give salepeople a bad name.

 

[tshile]

I've gotten quite a few of these of the past few weeks. I'm tossing them. Let me know how it turns out, maybe i'll suck it up and give one a shot in the future.

The weird thing is the ones I get have some sort of annual house hold income requirement at the bottom. I'm not sure what that's all about.

 

[Lanky Livingston]

Ehhhh....its kind of far away. They lure you there with the suggestion of a free car, and you walk away with a $500 "BOGO" coupon. I think I'm going to pass.

 

[Goaldeje]

a $500 BGO coupon would be a lot better.

 

[Ax]

Went to one years ago. Luggage set, and a camera were the guaranteed gifts for sitting through a 3 hr sales pitch. Spaghetti lunch included. No money up front. And it was only 15 minutes away from home.

Now, mind you, the wife and I didn't have doodly back then.

I decided to have fun with it. Got a good buzz on, with my good friend at the time, Mary Jane, and acted like I was more than interested through the whole thing. Asking legit questions about the pros and cons of time share. Knowledge is, after-all, power. The spaghetti came at the halfway point. It sucked, but the munchies made it taste purty good. When the pitch was over, I got my voucher, first, then immediately after they brought up money, and signing something, got up, snatched my gifts, and walked out.

The luggage was a 5 piece collapsible polyester set, that we had for years. I still have the little overnight bag in use today.

The camera was a cheap, fixed lens 35mm job, that I used for 20 years, taking before and after shots of landscape work.

All in all, it was a positive experience.

But I wouldn't dream of doing it today.